WHITPAIN — In 1954, campers attended Sesame Day Camp, located at the Mermaid Lake Swim Club in Blue Bell, for the first time. A few years later, the camp relocated to its current location on Yost Road in Blue Bell, where it has been ever since and it is at this current location that the camp will host an alumni luncheon on Sunday afternoon, April 28, for all alumni of Sesame/Rockwood Day Camp in celebration of its 60th season.

The alumni luncheon is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. and will provide all former campers the opportunity to take a walk down memory lane, with a display of old bunk photos dating from the inaugural 1954 season all the way up to the present, a clothesline displaying old camper and staff shirts and a DVD slideshow showing new and old photos, according to Dale Batterman, who bought the camp along with her husband Howard in 1986.

“I would say the planning has been probably for six months or more,” she explained. “It’s been incredibly extensive.”

Along with the memorabilia from years past, a trivia contest with prizes will be held and a special station will be set up to highlight couples who first met as counselors at the camp and ended up getting married.

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“There’s about a dozen staff that met here at camp and married,” Batterman said. “They’re still sending me photos and their wedding pictures.”

As if finding and procuring all of the memorabilia from summers gone by were not challenging enough, the organizers also faced the daunting task of notifying as many alumni as possible, which was understandably difficult considering the sheer number of people that either attended or worked for the camp over the past six decades.

“A lot of personal calls were made. We emailed everyone in our database. We put it on Facebook,” said Batterman. “We tried to connect in so many ways. Every which way we could think of.”

According to Batterman, the time and effort has paid off in a big way, with roughly 400 alumni, including Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro and camp founder Ed Itzenson, already registered to attend the event.

While it was difficult to reach some of the alumni, whether it was because they attended the camp prior to the digital age or used a college email address that was no longer valid or changed phone numbers, the organizers also had easy access to a number of past campers who had such a positive experience and Sesame/Rockwood that their children now attend the camp.

“We send out an invitation for the Spring Fling to all registered campers and their families and we also included the alumni luncheon, so the parents who were alumni were aware of the luncheon,” Batterman said.

The annual Spring Fling for campers and their families will follow the alumni luncheon on Sunday afternoon and those that attend the alumni luncheon are invited to stay for it. The Spring Fling will feature carnival booths, amusement rides, face painters, balloon artists, and camp crafts.

Any alumni that have not yet registered for the event but would still like to attend can RSVP through Sunday morning by calling 610-275-2267 and leaving a message.